budget

In Massachusetts, a Democratic state legislature voted to take away public workers' right to collectively bargain over health care, in what Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, calls "A miniature version of what we saw in Wisconsin." He notes that just like Scott Walker, these politicians are scapegoating employees who didn't cause the economic crisis. But Trumka and the labor movement are fighting back, building coalitions with immigrants rights groups and civil rights organizations, banding together against a common enemy. He joins us via Skype from Washington, D.C. to give us the latest on actions this past May Day and ongoing around the country. This weekend, the New York branch of the nationwide budget-cut protest group US Uncut tried a new tactic--they held teach-ins in not one, but two Bank of America locations, explaining economic issues to a crowd of interested listeners (and bank customers) until they were chased out by security. Thanks to US Uncut for producing the video! "For the first time what we're seeing is people on the rise and they can no longer be ignored, by their own governments or by the United States," says Phyllis Bennis. And those people are saddened by the U.S.'s action against Osama Bin Laden, but more importantly are demanding that their voices be heard, not the voices of their dictators that the U.S. has relied on for so long. Phyllis checks in with us from Amman, Jordan, and tells us about the reaction of people there to Bin Laden's death. She also gives us the latest from Cairo, Egypt, where she was before traveling to Jordan. Finally, Jason Leopold for Truthout reports that BP may just be "too big to fail"--Laura has some thoughts. Distributed by Tubemogul.

This is a moral issue; the budget is a moral document. We can take care of the deficit and rebuild our infrastructure and strengthen our safety net by reducing military spending and eliminating corporate subsidies and tax loopholes for the rich. Or we can sink further into debt and amoral individualism by demonizing and starving the poor. Which side are you on? Those are the words of GRITtv guest Mark Bittman in the New York Times recently, explaining the fast he had joined to protest austerity measures that overwhelmingly target the hungry. Now over 30,000 people have joined the fast, including pop star and GRITtv guest Moby, and MoveOn created this video in which fasters explain why they've made their choice.

"We need to go back to the day where we actually do ask everyone to pay their fair share--and that includes the wealthiest among us," says Heather Boushey, Senior Economist for the Center for American Progress. She joins us today to unpack President Obama's April 13 address on fiscal policy and deficit reduction. As an embattled middle class continues to struggle with having basic needs such as employment and health care met, Heather says that the budget's effects will be more than just numbers on a page. So just how much potential is there to heal or to harm? And will top earners finally be asked to pony up? Heather joins us to weigh in on President Obama's plan, and what in it may help--or may not help--an already stricken middle class. "We're able to maintain the illusion that we're fighting a war on drugs and that we're protecting young people we're doing it on the backs of poor people. Poor people of color, rural poor people, poor people who don't have access to jobs. We have one group of people who we've said that their employment is going to be the keepers of these other people that we've locked up for drug use because they don't have jobs and you don't have jobs ever. We've built a whole system out of policing, locking up and controlling poor people," says Deborah Small, who's dedicated her life to fighting for a responsible drug policy that helps, not hurts. Laura sat down with Deborah recently for some frank talk on our drug war failings, what a real drug policy would look like, and why more and more leaders are calling for an end to prohibition. And just this week, the NAACP is out with a new study, called Misplaced Priorities, on the consequences of the War on Drugs. Finally, Paul Mason of the BBC spoke to us about "graduates with no future," who have been at the center of protest movements around the world. If we keep cutting the future out from under young people here, Laura asks, what choices will they have left? Distributed by Tubemogul.

"Everyone from the FDIC to the Pentagon have said that people are doing this as a way of life ... they are trapped in a series of loans," says Kai Wright of individuals and families who've become entangled in the system of payday lending. High-interest loans are being made to the people who need the extra cash most--and who are most unable to repay. As the Republican congress introduces a bill aimed at doing away with financial reform and continues its efforts to stymie the efforts of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, payday lending will continue to be attractive to low-income borrowers, and even more dangerous in the long-term. Is our economy, still reeling from the effects of the sub-prime mortgage explosion, prepared for any more suffering consumers or unscrupulous lending? This weekend, GRITtv headed to Boston with lots of our favorite media makers, activists, and thinkers for the National Conference for Media Reform. Laura was the emcee for the opening plenary, and then stuck around all weekend, talking about money, media and politics with movers and shakers. Check out some of what we saw at the conference! The details of the compromise that finally kept the government open and made deep cuts to the federal budget for fiscal year 2011 are finally beginning to emerge--and they're not pretty. Millions and even billions from education, labor, the EPA--all for what economist Richard Wolff says is a negligible impact on the actual deficit. Is there an upside to this mess? Richard joins Laura in studio, along with strategist Karen Finney from Washington, D.C., to break down the budget plan and the politics behind it. They also offer some solutions for ways to really fix the deficit. Finally, one thing we know for sure about the budget compromise is that there was no reduction at all in military spending. Laura has some thoughts. Distributed by Tubemogul.